My name is Kim Goodling and I have been a Certified Group Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer for 20 years. I met my husband when I was 34 in January of 2007 and got married at the age of 35 in June of 2008. At that time, my husband was a personal trainer and I not only was working a full time job, but I also taught group fitness classes on the side. After we were married for a year we decided to try to start having children. The first time I conceived was in July of 2009, and we were so excited for this child to be in our lives. The pregnancy was going smoothly, and then at 9 weeks I woke up I found that I was bleeding a lot. I knew in my heart of hearts something was wrong. I immediately went to my doctor and had him check me. My cervix was still closed, but it obviously was not a good sign that I was bleeding so early. I was told to take it easy for a few days and if I was still bleeding to go to Winnie Palmer Hospital to get checked. Nothing had changed so I ended up having my husband take me to the hospital where I was checked again. My cervix was still closed, but the ultrasound showed the embryo was sitting low in my uterus.
I have always believed women have certain intuitions and at this moment in time mine were in full gear. I knew that I would lose this child; God was telling me this. I went home and was placed on bed rest for three days to see what if anything would change. Two days later I had passed my embryo while going to the restroom. The emotion was overwhelming as I knew I had for certain now lost my baby. So many questions went through my mind: Why? What did “I” do to cause this? Why me? Does this happen often? It drove me into a state of doing a lot of research on the internet, but never finding the answer to why it happened to me. I am an avid fitness professional and love to stay in shape. I had people tell me I probably miscarried because I was working out, but I knew in my heart of hearts and confirmed with my doctor that working out did not cause the miscarriage.
I had signed up to do a triathlon on Labor Day weekend and decided not to do it because I was pregnant. However, two weeks before the event I miscarried, so I decided go ahead with the race. I knew I had not been training, but that was ok. I was doing this for myself, to pick myself back up off of the ground. I am so glad I did the race because I actually did better than I had ever done in a triathlon. It was God’s way of telling me “It’s ok Kim, you will succeed again. One week later I flew up north to visit my husband’s family because my sister-in-law was being induced that weekend. That was the hardest thing I had to do after my miscarriage. I had so many emotions going through my mind; anger and sadness to name a few. As soon as we landed in Baltimore and my brother in law picked us up I started crying and could not stop. We went to the hospital and I got to hold my nephew for the first time, and I have to say it was a healing process for me. Holding Jaden brought peace to my soul and once again was God’s way of telling me its ok, you will have this of your own one day. Once I returned home from the trip I finally had to hand it over to God and accept the fact that something was wrong with the baby and it was God’s way of letting me know this and sparing us and the baby from any further pain.
was pregnant this time I immediately started doing research on nutrition and fitness for pregnant women. To my surprise, I found basic information here and there, but nothing that give me an idea of what I could do for my fitness level. Most of the information I found either in books or on the internet was geared towards basic workouts, not separated by fitness level. Women are at different fitness levels before we get pregnant so why wouldn't it make sense we would be during pregnancy? I also could not find workout and nutrition programs for pregnant women with the exception of a few locations. However, these are all over the place for the normal person!
Intensity during pregnancy was also a topic I was interested in. How do I know I am not placing stress on the baby or myself? Common sense told me the same way I know I am not placing stress on myself when I am not pregnant. I heard from my doctor and on most online sites that you should keep your heart rate at or below 140 beats per minute (bpm) to prevent undo stress to the baby. But as fitness professional common sense told me 140 bpm is different for every fitness level and age. Upon more research I was excited to find in 1994, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) lifted the restriction on intensity and duration for exercise because there was no evidence that a heart rate great than 140 bpm caused harmful effects for the baby.
In addition to fitness to achieve overall wellness, one must follow a good nutrition plan and eating program. Before I became pregnant I followed a well rounded nutrition plan and It only made sense to me to keep that up during pregnancy, increasing my calorie intake by 200-300 a day for the baby. Because of my healthy eating habits I had fewer cravings during pregnancy and was able to not give in to the “well the baby wants it” myth. An unhealthy nutrition plan increases the need for us to put more toxins or unhealthy food in our body, which can worsen if we allow it during pregnancy. A healthy nutrition plan can lead to a healthy mom and healthy baby. I believe what we teach our children starts in the womb and this includes healthy eating habits and fitness plan.
My husband and I started trying to conceive again, but it was hard because he was now in the police academy and our time together was limited. Stress and limited time together seemed to overtake us in trying to get pregnant that it was hindering us instead of helping. I decided to go on vacation with a girlfriend in March of 2010; we went snowboarding to Tahoe. I let go of the stress and just got my mind off of trying to conceive a child. The week after I got back I got pregnant with my son Kai.
When I conceived I was 38 years old and still in great shape. I was so nervous the first 13 weeks of the pregnancy. I checked myself every time I went to the restroom to make sure I was not bleeding and watched what I did the first 10 weeks of the pregnancy. I had always wanted children, but being an avid fitness enthusiast I was concerned about the affect it would have on my body. When I found out I
The lack of information I found based on fitness level gave me the motivation provide pregnant women the tools they need to enjoy their pregnancy and the activities they love to do!
Before I got pregnant my workouts consisted of indoor cycling, plyometrics, weight training, swimming, running, Bikram Yoga, elliptical trainer, circuit training and interval training. I loved to do
a wide variety of workouts to keep my body in shape on various levels and my muscles guessing at all times.
As I started my pregnancy journey the first thing I researched was what I could continue doing that I was doing before. My doctor also gave me some instruction and advice to the best of his ability based on his level of fitness knowledge. However I knew to get the answers I needed I had to use my fitness background and common sense as the next nine months passed. As most of us know when we research something we get various opinions, which can confuse us even more! My answer was to use my own discretion based on what my fitness level was at pre-pregnancy.
As I progressed, to my surprise, 95% of the activities I was doing pre-pregnancy I could do during my pregnancy! The first trimester the only activities I did not do were a ton of plyometrics and Bikram Yoga because of the heat factor involved in the practice. In place of the plyometrics I incorporated what I call pregnancy plyometrics, which I will explain in my workouts. In the second trimester I picked up Birkam Yoga in week 14 and continued running, but not as much because I was slightly uncomfortable.
As I started my pregnancy journey the first thing I researched was what I could continue doing that I was doing before. My doctor also gave me some instruction and advice to the best of his ability based on his level of fitness knowledge. However I knew to get the answers I needed I had to use my fitness background and common sense as the next nine months passed. As most of us know when we research something we get various opinions, which can confuse us even more! My answer was to use my own discretion based on what my fitness level was at pre-pregnancy.
As I progressed, to my surprise, 95% of the activities I was doing pre-pregnancy I could do during my pregnancy! The first trimester the only activities I did not do were a ton of plyometrics and Bikram Yoga because of the heat factor involved in the practice. In place of the plyometrics I incorporated what I call pregnancy plyometrics, which I will explain in my workouts. In the second trimester I picked up Birkam Yoga in week 14 and continued running, but not as much because I was slightly uncomfortable.
I continued to teach indoor cycling throughout my whole pregnancy into my 37th week. As I entered my third trimester I felt my energy level slowing a bit, but that did not stop me from doing what I loved. I just had to modify my workouts based on my level and how I was feeling. What I have learned through my pregnancy is that fear and lack of knowledge can cause us to not stay in shape while we are pregnant or enjoy the activities we did prior to pregnancy.
Intensity during pregnancy was also a topic I was interested in. How do I know I am not placing stress on the baby or myself? Common sense told me the same way I know I am not placing stress on myself when I am not pregnant. I heard from my doctor and on most online sites that you should keep your heart rate at or below 140 beats per minute (bpm) to prevent undo stress to the baby. But as fitness professional common sense told me 140 bpm is different for every fitness level and age. Upon more research I was excited to find in 1994, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) lifted the restriction on intensity and duration for exercise because there was no evidence that a heart rate great than 140 bpm caused harmful effects for the baby. Many experts now believe that it is best to follow “rate of perceived exertion,” which involves exercising at a level that allows you to carry on a conversation. I was immediately relieved in finding this information, yet surprised how many people were still adhering to the 140 bpm philosophy. I decided to use rate of perceived exertion to gauge my fitness level throughout my entire pregnancy and was relieved to find backup to my philosophy of pregnancy and heart rate.
Intensity during pregnancy was also a topic I was interested in. How do I know I am not placing stress on the baby or myself? Common sense told me the same way I know I am not placing stress on myself when I am not pregnant. I heard from my doctor and on most online sites that you should keep your heart rate at or below 140 beats per minute (bpm) to prevent undo stress to the baby. But as fitness professional common sense told me 140 bpm is different for every fitness level and age. Upon more research I was excited to find in 1994, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) lifted the restriction on intensity and duration for exercise because there was no evidence that a heart rate great than 140 bpm caused harmful effects for the baby.
Many experts now believe that it is best to follow “rate of perceived exertion,” which involves exercising at a level that allows you to carry on a conversation. I was immediately relieved in finding this information, yet surprised how many people were still adhering to the 140 bpm philosophy. I decided to use rate of perceived exertion to gauge my fitness level throughout my entire pregnancy and was relieved to find backup to my philosophy of pregnancy and heart rate.
I truly believe my wellness practice before and during pregnancy have allowed me to have an easier pregnancy than I could ever imagine and a healthy baby from the inside out. I hope my personal story motivates other women and gives them the tools they need to feel as good as I do during
pregnancy.
